
Notes 



I 



Origin 
and 




Class / V^^ 



Book 
GopyrigfrtN°_^2i6 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



NOTES ON THE 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF 



THE "JRK 



BY ECKSTEIN CASE 

PAST FELLOW OF THE ROWFANT CLUB 



CLKVKLAND 
PRINTED FOR THE. ROWFANT CLUB 

1902 






Cc 



fb' 



I THE LtBRARY OF 
CONGHFSS. 
T*(. C'*.ts Rbc£ivcc 

I OCT. /b 1902 

I r.'irvoir.wT PNTHV 

CLASS ^ xxr No. 
COPY A. 



Copyright, 1902, by the Rowfant Club. 



One huiulrcd anil thirty copies of this book have been 
printed at the Marion Press, Jamaica, Queensborough, 
New- York, this being Number I "^ ^ \ 



ftotts on t\)t €>rig;in anli |[)i0tor^ 

of tijf -9ii" 

An association of local interest which experienced a 
long and honorable existence has recently passed 
away, and naturally there arises a curiosity concern- 
ing its origin, its objects, its abiding-place, its mem- 
bership, and other phases pertaining to bodies of its 
kind. Usually the task, of making clear the history 
of such an institution is materially aided by the rec- 
ords in the archives of the institution itself. There- 
fore, in attempting a sketch of the "Ark," one is 
discouraged at the outset by the fact that it pos- 
sessed neither archives nor systematic records of any 
kind which might have been consulted. With the 
exception of one or two newspaper articles, a few 
traditions, and yet fewer incidents related personally, 
there is, so far as I am aware, nothing extant from 
which a history of the club may be gleaned. It came 



Notes on the '^Jrk " 



into being without formal organization; it adopted 
neither by-laws, rules, nor regulations. It had, how- 
ever, a few peculiar customs, some of which will be 
mentioned later. Even its membership seems to have 
grown by affinity rather than by election or selection, 
and to be called an "Arkite" gave, in the estima- 
tion of the one so honored, the right to consider 
himself as one set apart. Such exclusiveness naturally 
bred a curiosity in the uninitiated, which in turn 
brought the indifference and reticence which the 
"Arkites" doubtless soon learned was the most effi- 
cient way to enhance their importance. The club's 
influence, however, upon the welfare ot the city was 
of inestimable value, and it is a matter of much re- 
gret that its complete history was not written by 
some one of its members. It would be of interest in- 
deed if some one of the many capable men belong- 
ing to the club had related in detail the incentives 
which inspired to higher ideals, as well as the wit 
and humor with which Conversation and argument 
were doubtless spiced. To Rowfanters particularly 
would such an history have been of the deepest in- 
terest, for without much exaggeration it may be 
said that the Rowfant Club is the child of the 



Notes ON the ''y///'' 3 

''Ark." Although the conception and birth ol the 
toriner did take phice elsewhere, the swaddling 
clothes ot interest and alFection were wrapped 
around the infant, so to speak, upon almost the 
same spot where the mother came into existence. 
The child has grown and made a permanent home 
for itself elsewhere, but the spirit and covenant of 
the "Ark" and its environment abide with it still. 

In 182 I the elder Leonard Case, then cashier of 
the old Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, and S. W. 
I'helps of Painesville became involved in a contro- 
versy as to which should become the possessor of 
Original Two-Acre Lot Number 63 of Cleveland. 
Each desired the other to own it. In 18 17 Phelps 
had sold the lot on contract for about two hun- 
dred and fiftv dollars to one Henry Prather of 
Wellsburgh, Virginia, who made but a small cash 
payment. Prather erected a ropewalk upon the 
premises, but the business did not prosper, and 
Prather walked away, leaving his creditors to disen- 
tangle the ropes of his affairs. 

Phelps had borrowed one hundred dollars of the 
bank, leaving Prather's contract for collection and 
security. As nothing was paid on the contract, 



Notes on the "Ark " 



Phelps's loan, in consequence, remained unpaid and 
the bank directors decided that he must be sued. 
Mr. Case says in his memoirs: 

" I went down to Painesville, and Phelps (a 
brother lawyer) and myself sat down on a stump 
and condoled with each other. It was a case 
of conscience. Phelps insisted on my taking the 
contract and paying the note and balance to him. 
I could not raise the means, but agreed to pay 
the debt to the bank and own a proportion, 
and we would close the contract and sell to the 
best advantage. We proceeded, and I obtained 
a decree to be closed in one year. The decree was 
for $266.50, dated July 6, 1821. In 18 19 Dr. 
Long, Levi Johnson, A. W. Walworth, and others 
having judgments, had sold Prather's traps on exe- 
cution, and also the equitable interest in the land, 
as was common in those times, although illegal. 
When I got the contract from Phelps I offered it 
at the face value to Long, Walworth, Johnson, and 
the others. Walworth had money at command; so 
had Johnson. Long was rather flush. All with one 
accord refused the offer, and 1 informed them they 
must not disturb the ropewalk nor anything that 



A^otrs on the '^./r/" 



was real estate; so we liatl an arbitration on t he- 
lot. Horace Perry was umpire and marked out the 
distinctions. I'hey removed their share, but before 
I got possession the wind blew down the rope- 
walk. When the decree was out in 1822 wc were a 
little easier, and Phelps proposed releasing all to 
me, and I accepted, thereby making my best bar- 
gain in land because I could not get rid of it. 1 
paid up Phelps and took a deed, and paid $266.50 
and interest from July 6, 182 i, for the Two-Acre 
Lot and the remains of the ropewalk, out of which 
I built a woodshed, barn, and some eighty rods of 
fencing boards." 

I have dwelt somewhat at length on this trans- 
action, as I have deemed it of interest from the 
fact that this lot is the Ararat upon which our 
"Ark" was first to come to rest. 

In 1826 Mr. Case finished building a residence 
on the southerly end of the lot, and to it he after- 
wards made additions as necessity required. Some 
time previous to 1836 he built an unpretentious one- 
story frame building containing two rooms on what 
is now the southeast corner of Rockwell Street and 
the Public Square, diagonally across from the site of 



Notes on the '-^ylrk " 



the present Chamber of Commerce Building. Each 
room had a door and window in the side facing the 
Public Square, and each had a window in the rear. 
A door furnished entrance to the northerly room 
from the yard. The chimney was in the center, 
and in the southerly room there was a brick fire- 
place, over which was a rough mantel shelf. A 
door on the westerly side of the chimney led from 
one room into the other. This southerly room was 
intended and used as the old gentleman's of^ce. 
The other was used as a tool-room and for general 
storage. At the northerly end of the building a 
"lean-to" was afterwards built and used as wood 
and coal shed. The furniture of the office con- 
sisted of a number of rough splint-bottom chairs, a 
large round table, the open fireplace above men- 
tioned with its andirons, shovel and tongs, a couch, 
and a bookcase. A few pictures adorned the walls, 
and on the mantel shelf were several bottles doing 
duty as candlesticks. The drawers were filled with 
the tools and materials used in taxidermy and for 
repairing and cleaning guns. 

Lameness and failing health compelled the elder 
Case to call his older son William to his assistance 



Notes ON the ''Ark"^ 



in looking after his business affciirs ami real estate 
holdings, and troni that time the offiee was praeti- 
cally abandoned to the use ot the boys. Perhaps 
the old gentleman shrewdly deemed it mueh more 
eeonomical to furnish a '' loahng-plaec," so-called, 
for his boys than to spend time and possibly money 
in hunting for them elsewhere. 

In December, 1838, in a letter to his younger 
brother, Leonard, then at Yale College, William 
writes: "Now I hold my bones in the oflice as 
usual. Fred and myself have had a kind of chem- 
ical laboratory in the oi^ce, and have had several 
magnificent blow-ups — almost blown out of the 
house." In )uly, 1839, Leonard writes and asks a 
significant question: "Does the ol^ce continue to 
be headquarters for loafers, as usual, or is it getting 
to be too notorious?" This is the first intimation 
that the building was used as a meeting-place for 
the unemployed. The correspondence between the 
brothers makes no further mention of the office 
except that William writes in August, 1841: "I have 
a live rattlesnake to show for the amusement of the 
girls, who begin to think the old office a curiosity- 
shop"; but the afTection with which its frequenters 



^ Notes on the '^Jrk^' 

regarded the place is quaintly expressed in the follow- 
ing extract from a letter by Elisha S. Sterling, dated 
September 8, 1849, '^^ Paris, where he was then pur- 
suing his medical studies. He writes: "I am glad to 
hear the city is going ahead, as it is the finest place 
in existence. I have no desire to live in any other, 
and only ask to get back again within scent of the 
old 'Ark' — the greatest place, you know, in those 
diggings — and be again surrounded by the best of 
fellows. How often I think or dream that I am with- 
in its dusty walls engaged in or witnessing the excite- 
ment that always prevails. It is every day and night, 
but as often am I disappointed. The effect is a sort 
of devilish homesickness." The state of mind of the 
young man may easily be imagined, for Paris was 
then farther away, in point of time, than it is now. 
A sketch of the "Ark" would not be complete, 
nor would the incentives and motives which gave 
it character be comprehended and appreciated, with- 
out a knowledge of Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland, who 
during a long life of eighty-four years gave him- 
self to his fellowmen with an enthusiasm seldom 
equalled and with a prodigality which only a lover 
of nature is capable of bestowing. 



Notes on the ''ylrk^'' 



rhc tollowiiig brief account of the lite ot Dr. 
Kirthiiul i hii\'e drawn from a hioaraphical sketch 
written by Prof. John S. Newberry, and read before 
the National Academy of Sciences, and kindly loaned 
me bv Dr. H. K. Gushing. 

Dr. Kirtland, born in Wallingford, Connecticut, 
November lo, 1793, was the son of Turhand and 
Mary Potter Kirtland, and the grandson of Dr. 
Jared Potter, an eminent physician of Wallingford, 
for whom he was named and by whom he was 
adopted and imbued with the love of study. From 
1807 to 1810 he pursued his studies in the Wal- 
lingford and Cheshire Academies, and by his pro- 
ficiency in the classics and mathematics early gave 
evidence of a mind of the highest order. His taste 
and fondness for natural science developed while 
yet a youth, and clung to him to the end of his 
life. While managing, with the co-operation of his 
cousins, an extensive plantation of the white mul- 
berry for the cultivation of the silk-worm, he made 
the discovery that the female silk-moth, secluded 
from the male, could produce fertile eggs. This 
discovery was doubted until confirmed fifty years 
later by two eminent European scientists, Siebold 



10 Notes on the "Jrk " 

and Steen, and partheno-genesis in insects became 
an established fact. His father, Judge Turhand Kirt- 
land, was a large stockholder in the Connecticut 
Land Company, and in 1797 was appointed its first 
general agent. In 1803 the Judge, with all of his 
family excepting the son Jared, moved to Poland, 
Mahoning County, Ohio. In 18 10, the father's 
health failing, Jared made the journey to Ohio on 
horseback, and here he remained for a year or two 
assisting his father, teaching school, and enthusiasti- 
cally pursuing his study of nature in a field where 
there was ample scope for observing her in new and 
varied phases. 

His grandfather, Dr. Potter, died in 181 i and be- 
queathed him his medical library, together with 
money sufficient to enable him to attend medical 
lectures in Edinburgh, Scotland. Returning to Wal- 
lingford with this purpose in view, he began his 
medical studies with Dr. John Andrews, continuing 
them later with Dr. Sylvester Wells of Hartford. 
The war with England in 18 12— 13 prevented his 
entering the medical school of Edinburgh, and the 
Medical Department at Yale College having just 
been established, he matriculated with the first class. 



Notes on the ^'-.Irk"' ii 

IK- gradualcil there in i(Si5, attcr having spent some 
months in the Medical School of the University of 
Pennsylvania where his active mind found opportu- 
nities for enriching itself in many fields outside of 
his profession. 

He remained at Wallingford for two years and a 
half, practicing his profession and devoting every 
moment of his leisure to the further pursuit of nat- 
ural science. In 1818 he again came to Ohio with 
the intention of settling here, and returned to Wal- 
lingford with that aim in view, but was induced to 
remain in Windsor, Connecticut, where special ad- 
vantages for practice were opened to him. In 1823, 
his wife and one daughter dying within a short 
period, bereavement caused him to yield to the ap- 
peals of his father, and he transferred his residence 
to Ohio, where he remained to carve out a career 
equalled by few. In 1828 he was first elected to 
the Legislature, where he served three terms, and 
where his energies could always be relied upon in 
the cause of right and justice. 

In 1837 he was appointed to the professorship of 
the Theory and Practice of Medicine in the Ohio 
Medical College at Cincinnati, and in the same year 



12 Notes on the ''Ark " 

he was appointed as assistant on the Geological Sur- 
vey of Ohio, under the direction of Professor W. W. 
Mather. 

In 1837 he also purchased a farm in Lakewood 
Township, just west of Cleveland, where he built 
the handsome residence to which he removed his 
family and his scientific collection, and where he 
dispensed the hospitality so congenial to his nature. 

In 1841—42 he gave a course of lectures in the 
Willoughby Medical School, and in 1843 ^^ resigned 
his professorship in the Ohio Medical School to be- 
come one of the founders of the Cleveland Medical 
College, in which he occupied the chair of Theory 
and Practice until 1864. 

He was twice married — in 1815 to Miss Caro- 
line Atwater of Wallingford, Connecticut, and in 
1825 to Miss Hannah Toucey of Newtown, Con- 
necticut, whom he outlived several years. Only one 
child reached maturity, the daughter of his first wife, 
who married Mr. Charles Pease. He died December 
I o, 1877. 

This, briefly, is the account of a life about which 
volumes could be written, and in which every act 
told for the good of mankind. Possessed with a per- 



Notes ofi the "y/r/-" /J 

i.i)iKil maiiiictisin which drew around him men ot all 
ranks and conditions, and which inspired in all an 
admiration and love as lasting as life itself, Dr. 
Kirtland mav deservedly he i2:iven the credit of 
first instilling into the minds of the young men 
of the ''Ark" the love for the beauties of nature 
which remained with them through all their varied 
careers. 

Guided and encouraged by Dr. Kirtland, William 
Case early took up the study of ornithology as well 
as zoology and mineralogy, and he soon became am- 
bitious to make a collection of the birds of North 
America. In order to accomplish this he learned the 
art of taxidermy, and attained rare skill in preserving 
and mounting specimens. Others soon became in- 
terested, and thus gradually there came to be asso- 
ciated with him a coterie of young men who per- 
mitted no opportunity for adding to the collection 
to escape them. Whenever a strange bird was found 
by any one in the surrounding section knowing of 
the tastes of these young men, it was brought in to 
be identified and placed in the collection. Those 
most actively engaged with William Case were Elisha 
Sterling, Captain Benjamin A. Stannard, and Rufus 



14 Notes on the '^Jrk " 

K.. Winslovv. Of these, Captain Stannard ("Captain 
Ben," as he was familiarly known) was perhaps the 
ablest lieutenant, from the fact that he sailed the 
Lakes, both upper and lower. At one time, "before 
the canal" (an expression defining an epoch), he 
commanded the Ramsay Crook^ which sailed the waters 
of Lake Superior. He explored both sides of the 
lake in the interest of the American Fur Company 
and the gratification of his love for natural history. 

In this little building these young men labored for 
years at their cherished pursuit, and it was not a 
great while until the northerly room became too 
crowded for their collection. To accommodate the 
increase a wing was attached to the easterly, and 
the door which formerly gave exit to the back yard 
served as an entrance to this addition. 

What would one not give to be able to take a 
backward peep into this little workshop to observe 
the methods employed and to listen to these youths 
discussing and criticising each other's work in lan- 
guage perhaps more forcible than eloquent? 

The office thus gradually became "headquarters for 
loafers," as above irreverently expressed, and in the 
evening after tea it was customary for the young men 



Notes (w the '-'/Irk^'' 



ol the Nilhigc — trictuls aiul associates ot tlic laborers 
— to gather there to pass away the hours before bed- 
time. In the summer, before candle-light, athletic 
teats of various kinds engaged the time until dark, 
and then came cards, chess, discussion, and work on 
the inside. Even conundrums and riddles were not 
despised. The following riddle, entitled "Two Noted 
Characters of l^nglish Literature," is said to have 
originated in the "Ark," but by whom composed I 
have been unable to ascertain: 



'Twas not on Alpine snow and ice, 

But on plain English ground; 
They sought a lofty enterprise, 

But lowly fate they found. 
They went not forth for earthly fame, 

But at stern duty's call; 
They were united in their aim. 

Divided in their fall. 



The solution I leave to your astuteness. 

It is interesting to know that the scientific work 
and workers in this place became in time of interest, 
and profit as well, to the famous American orni- 
thologist and naturalist, John James Audubon. It is 
easy to imagine how he must have been the patron 



1 6 Notes on the ''Ark '" 

saint, as it were, of these amateurs in a lield in which 
he had few peers and no superior. The following 
letter in reply to one addressed to him by William 
Case, and which I quote in full, is the first of a 
series received in the period from 1844 to 1852 from 
the father and the son, V. G. Audubon. 



New York Dec' 10''' 1844 — 
Dear Sir, — 

I duly received your favour of Nov' 30''' and reply to its con- 
tents forthwith. 

You will see by the Prospectus on the other side, what our 
terms are for The Quadrupeds of America. — There are now 8 
numbers published which we can forward to you provided you 
think fit to forward us your name as a Subscriber. I have a 
Synopsis of the Birds of America the price of which is Four 
Dollars, and this can also be sent to you provided you write to 
us to that effect. — 

As you are a student in Zoology, I should like to keep up 
a correspondence with you if it be your pleasure. — 

I remain very Sincerely 

Your ob' Servant 

John J Audubon 

This is the only letter from the elder Audubon, 
and it was written on a sheet of double note-paper, 
on the third page of which is the printed prospectus 
of the work, on the Quadrupeds, reading as follows: 



y/^,^^ A^x 



y., "v^^.'^'V^ V 



y^y^. 



. V/> 



^.v -^.^ ^^^ ^^^ 



'-^.£^ 






^^^ ^- ^ 






J « ^- 



"<* 




^^.^. 




Notes on the "y/r/" 77 

VIVII^AROUS Q^UADRUIM'DS 

OF 

NORTH AMERICA. 

Bv JOHN JAMKS AUDUBON, F. R. S..&c. &c., am. JOHN BACHMAN, O. D.,&c. &c. 



PROSPECTUS. 



The plan adopted by the Authors for the publication of this work, in a 
great degree corresponds with that pursued by Mr. Audubon in his large 
work on the " Birds of America," and it is believed that the "Quadru- 
peds OF North America" will fully equal in beauty and interest the splen- 
did Plates representing the Birds of our Country. Many of the species will 
be given of their natural size, and in most cases, several figures, with trees, 
plants, and occasionally views drawn from nature will appear on each plate. 

The work will contain figures and descriptions of all the Viviparous 
Quadrupeds found in the United States, and from Texas, California, and 
the North-West Coast to the British possessions and Arctic regions of our 
Continent. 

The Plates will be Lithographed in a style superior to any thing hitherto 
executed in this country, and will be printed on the best imperial folio paper, 
(22 by 28 inches,) and carefully coloured from Mr. Audubon's original 
drawings. 

The Letter-press will contain all the information obtained by Mr. J. J. 
Audubon and the Rev. Dr. John BACHMAN.from their own researches and 
from other sources that can be relied on, and the observations of other 
authors will be likewise introduced, where found useful or interesting. A 
portion of the letter-press will be published as soon as a sufficient number of 
plates have appeared to form a volume. 

The work will be delivered to subscribers in numbers ot five plates each, 
at intervals of about two months from the publication of each number, mak- 
ing five or six numbers annually, and the whole work will be completed in 
about thirty numbers. 

The price ot the work is ten dollars each number, payable on delivery. 

Persons desiring to subscribe will please address John J. Audubon, 77 
William street, New York, or John Bachman, D. D., Charleston, South 
Carolina. 



1 8 Notes on the ''Ark " 

The son, Victor G. Audubon, however, makes re- 
ply from time to time notifying William that parts 
of the work for which he had subscribed had been 
forwarded, and also to request specimens and infor- 
mation concerning the habits and animals of this sec- 
tion. As these letters indicate in a measure the ap- 
proximate chronology of and the progress made in 
the great work on the Quadrupeds, and have not 
hitherto been published, they may prove of interest, 
although they tell but one side of the story. 

New York Apl 26. 1845 
Dear Sir 

Your favor of the ^^^ ins' has been rec'', and according to your 
request I send you to day by Express, all the N°' of the "Quadru- 
peds of North America," that are published, viz : N™ i to 1 1 inclusive. 

I send you also a synopsis of the Birds. The Bill, according 
to your desire, I forward at foot $1 15 — and you will please make 
a remittance as soon as may be convenient. 

The first vol of letter-press will be sent to you in about three 
months, also Title page for the vol of plates — 

I note your observations respecting the Birds procured in your 
vicinity, and will communicate them to my Father, who is now 
out of town, when I see him. 

With thanks for your patronage of our work — which I doubt 
not will please you, and with my Respects to Mr. Winslow 

I am Respectfully, 

Your obt serv't 

To W'" Case Esq," V. G. Audubon 



Notes ofi the ''yJrk^' ig 



W" Case- lvsi|' 

I o J. J. Audubon Dr. 

For the " (Quadrupeds ot' North Aincrica" 

Nos 1 to 1 I inclusive (7j lo ? Ka ;^iio — 

I'ortfolio 2 — 

Synopsis of the " Birds of America " 3 

New York Apl 26. 1S45. $115. — 



Philad' May 17, 1845 
Dear Sir 

Your favor of the 4'*" Ins.', with check, for Jijo. was duly rec"*, 
and that sum placed to your Credit with thanks — 

Please do as you like with the extra, plate ot the Mink — I 
cannot imagine how it was put into the box — we regret it, but 
the error cannot now be corrected. 

We shall be much gratified if you will favour us with any new 
or rare animals from Lake Superior or any part ot the Country 
near you — If put in a jar or bottle, of whiskey, & sent us, we 
should receive them in tolerable order in the flesh — 

Should you incur any expense in forwarding or procuring any 
thing of the sort for us, please note it, and we will repay you, 
with thanks besides — 

My Father is now travelling in Pennsylvania and will not return 
home for some time, when he does reach New York again, he 
will have great pleasure in sending to you an original Water-colour 
sketch & autograph, for your copy of the "Birds of America" — 

Very Respectfully 

W" Case Esq.' Your M' Obt Servt 

Cleveland V. G. Audubon 

Ohio. 

The request for the autograph indicates that the 
habits ot the collector were established in Cleveland 



20 Notes on the ''Jrk " 

before most of the members ot the Rowtant Club 

were born. 

New York Jan. 7: 9'^ 1846 
My Dear Sir: — 

I have the pleasure of writing to ask a favour which I think 
you can render us without much inconvenience. It is to obtain 
for us information respecting the habits of the Porcupine [Hystrix 
Dortata) in your part of the country. We would prefer your mak- 
ing enquiry of any respectable farmers or persons in the country 
near you, as to the mode in which the Porcupine breeds, the time, 
number of young, season when they are brought forth, whether 
the animal becomes torpid or dormant in winter, its food, how the 
hunters capture it, its mode of travelling from place to place and 
in short, all the knowledge you can get on the subject as well as 
any anecdotes that may be interesting and that can be relied on. 
This information I would be greatly pleased to receive as soon as 
you can procure it and you will please let us know if you incur any 
expense so that we may refund it to you. I take the liberty of 
also requesting the same kind of information, at a later period, 
that is to say, when convenient, in regard to the animals I will 
mention on the next page. 

As soon as Spring opens I will send you several numbers of the 
"Quadrupeds" with which I hope you will be pleased. 

We have not forgotten the drawing by my Father, you wrote 
for and I hope to send it to you with the box of numbers. 

I hope we may soon hear from you and that you will favour us 
with the aid now solicited at your hands. 

Believe me. Dear Sir, with wishes for your welfare and happi- 
ness for many New Years. 

Your obliged Servant * 

To William Case Esqr V. G. Audubon 

Cleveland. Ohio. 



Notes on the ^'/Irk^^ 21 



To W"' Case Esq' 
Cleveland, 

Ohio- 
List of animals ot which we want information 

American otter. 

Raccoon. 

Prarie Wolf (I believe you have this with you). 

Common, Grey, (or white or black) wolf. 

Any moles, Sbreivs, or other small animals 

the accounts to be accompanied by their skins 

(always with the skulls i5c leg bones preserved in them) 

Opossum — 

Pine Marten 

Pennanti Marten or Fisher 

Common black bear 

Panther 

All your Foxes — Red, Grey, Black, White &c 

Banded Lynx (if you have it near you) 

Pieromys Sabrinus — a large flying squirrel. 

Small rats &c — Pouched Rats &c 

in short a list with such notices as you can obtain 

of the (^adrupeds found in your section of the Country 

would be a great service to us. 

If I am too bold in thus intruding on you -can 
you recommend us to anyone who will undertake 

this task? 

Yours dear sir 

Most Respectfully & truly 

V. G. Audubon. 

Any information about the wolverine if sent 
immediately would be useful. 



22 Notes on the "^r/-" 

New York Apl. 7. 1846. 
My dear Sir 

I have the pleasure of sending vou to day N'" 14. 15 & 1 6, of 
the "(^ladrupeds of North America," which I hope will reach 
you in good order, and he approved by you. 

In our next box I hope to send you the Letter press for the first 

Vol. 

With great Respect 

I am dear sir 

Your mo obt Serv' 

V. G. Audubon 

To 

W"" Case Esq' 

Cleveland, 

Ohio. 



New York Augt 12. 1846 
My dear Sir 

I have the pleasure of sending you herewith the i y'*' & 1 8'^ 
numbers of the "Quadrupeds" and hope you will be pleased with 
them. 

The first volume of the Letter press will go with our next pack- 
age to you. 

With best Respects 

I am dear sir 
Your obliged obt Servt 

V. G. Audubon 
W"" Case Esq' 
Cleveland 
Ohio. 



Notes on the ''//r/'" 23 

New York dec i6. 1846 
Dear Sir 

I have the pleasure to send you herewith the 1 9 & 20''' N*" of 
the "(^ladrupeds," and the first volume of the letter press — I 
hope you will be pleased with the numbers and with the volume. 

If convenient to you please make us another remittance. 

With very Best Regards (Sc with thanks tor your kindness in the 

matter of the "Porcupine" which you will see noticed in the 

volume, 

I am dear Sir 

Your Mo obt Serv'. 
V. G. Audubon 
To 

William Case Esq 
Cleveland 
Ohio. 



In vol. i, pp. 285-286, of " The Quadrupeds of North America " appears 
the acknowledgment to which reference is made in the foregoing letter: " The 
following information respecting the Porcupine was received by us from our 
kind friend William Case, F.sq., of Cleveland, Ohio: 'This animal was sev- 
eral years since (before my shooting days) very abundant in this region, the 
Connecticut Western Reserve; and no more than ten years ago one person 
killed seven or eight in the course of an afternoon's hunt for squirrels, 
within three or four miles of this citv, while now probably one could not be 
found in a month. They are rapidly becoming extinct; the chiet reason is 
probably the extreme hatred all hunters bear them on account of the in- 
juries their quills inflict on their dogs. They do not hibernate, neither do I 
think they are particularly confined to their hollow trees during the coldest 
days in winter. Their movements from tree to tree in search of food 
(browse and bark) are rather slow and awkward; their track in the snow 
very much resembles that of a child (with the aid of imagination). They 
much delight in browsing and barking young and thrifty Elms and are gen- 
erally plenty in Kim or Bass-wood swail.' " 



24 Notes on the ''Ark " 

New York May i8. 1847. 
My dear Sir 

I have the pleasure of sending you herewith the 21" & 22 N'" 
of the "Qiiadrupeds," which I hope will please you — 

We presume the previous N"' to N" 20 inclusive, have long 
since reached you, as well as, the first volume of the letter-press. 

When you have the present, we will be obliged by your making 
us a remittance, and by hearing how you like the progress of the 
work and the first volume of descriptions. 

Any information you can give us about any of the animals of 
the second volume will be of service to us, and we will thank you 
if you will bear the subject in mind and write some details for us 
if you can obtain them. You will see the quadrupeds of the 2'' 
volume by looking through your plates from N° i i to N" 20 in- 
clusive. Please say whether you have received Title pages & Tables 
of Contents for the first & second volumes of plates. 

Very Respectfully 

William Case Esq' Your obliged serv' 

Cleveland. V. G. Audubon 



New York July 19. 1848. 
Dear Sir 

I have the pleasure of sending you the 27'*^ & 28''' N°' of the 
"Quadrupeds of North America," with which I hope you will 
be pleased. 

We hope you are quite well, and should be pleased to hear 
from you. Have you ever obtained any information concerning 
the small animals of your district of country that you could for- 
ward to us for our next volumes of Letter press ? 

Very Truely yours 
William Case Esq.' V. G. Audubon 

Cleveland, 
Ohio. 



Notes ON the ''.-//-/" 2S 

riic lollowing is a printctl circular letter, aiul il 
there were other letters between it aiul the foregoing 
they have been lost. 

New-York July 12, 1H52. 
Dear Sir, 

In completing the third volume of the letter-press of the 
"(^ladrupeds of North America," (original edition) a few animals 
not figured in that work will be described. 

These will be figured, of a size suitable to bind in that volume, 
and will be carefully coloured. 

Should you desire to have the plates of these species inserted in 
your copy, they will be charged to you when the volume is deliv- 
ered, at twenty cents each plate. 

In case you do not wish these extra plates, your third volume 
will be forwarded without them, and without charge to you, as 
was the case with the first and second volumes. 

I beg to apologize for the delay which has occurred in the com- 
pletion of the letter-press; it has been unavoidable. 

The volume is now however in the hands of the printer and 
will he published during the present summer. 

Your answer will oblige 

Your most obedient Servant, 
W"" Case Esq' V. G. Audubon 

Cleveland 
Ohio. 

Picture in voiir mind, if von can, the delight which 
these busy young men must have experienced over 
the fact that their work was used and credited by 
the foremost naturalist of America. 



26 Notes on the ''Ark " 

Besides those above mentioned, they who atter- 
wards became more prominently known as "Arkites" 
were Stoughton Bliss, David W. Cross, Edward A. 
Scovill (father of our fellow RowfanterV Bushnell 
White, James J. Tracy, George A. Stanley, John Coon, 
Henry G. Abbey, and Dr. Alleyn Maynard. 

To Stoughton Bliss is given the credit of suggest- 
ing the name by which the club was ever afterwards 
known. Coming in one day with a companion and 
casting his eyes over the specimens which occupied 
every nook and cranny, he remarked that the place 
reminded him of Noah's Ark. Upon being asked 
to explain he replied, " Because it contains two of 
every kind." The name was deemed so appropriate 
that it was adopted. "Three of a kind" was prob- 
ably not an unknown expression there, although I 
have no data to confirm the suspicion that the great 
American game was in favor during the early years 
of the club's existence. Given, however, a certain 
number of facts, and unknown truths may be de- 
duced. There were young men and there were cards. 

William Case was also interested in every thing per- 
taining to the fine arts, for in his letters to his brother 
and Elisha Sterling there are frequent requests to 



Notes ON the ^'/Irk^^ 21 

piircluusc prints and reproductions of various kinds. 
It was with him a dream, which was but partially 
realized during his lifetime, that his native city 
should some day enjoy the benefits derived from 
libraries, museums, and schools of advanced learn- 
ing. Judge James D. Cleveland, in one of the 
numerous sketches he was fond of writing about 
Clevelanders, says: "In 1844 I met William Case 
in Philadelphia and spent the day with him in the 
splendid collection of Natural History in the gal- 
leries of the Franklin Institute. You can easily ap- 
preciate the delight he evinced as he examined the 
grand exhibit in a field in which he was enthusias- 
tic. 'One day,' said he, 'Cleveland must have some- 
thing like this. We will have an Academy of Nat- 
ural Science and a Library Association which shall 
be grand and worthy of the city. Cleveland is a 
chrysalis now; one of these days she shall be a but- 
terfly.'" Continuing, the Judge writes: "He began 
in 1859 to erect a building which should accom- 
modate the Young Men's Library Association and 
the Kirtland Society of Natural History. He did 
not live to finish the building, but his wishes were 
carried out by his brother." 



28 Notes on the "Ark " . 

I have given these extracts in passing for the rea- 
son that both of the institutions mentioned were 
doubtlessly discussed and planned in the "Ark" 
years before the fruition. The "Ark." collection of 
birds and specimens became the nucleus of the 
Kirtland Society, which had a wide renown in its 
day, and which, owing to lack of financial support, 
was finally broken up, part given to Adelbert Col- 
lege and part to Case School of Applied Science. 
The Library Association in 1876 became the insti- 
tution with which you are all familiar and which 
has just now entered new quarters. 

William's fondness for art caused him to engage 
a local artist by the name of Stevenson to paint 
him a copy of one of the noted pictures in which 
was the figure of a lady slightly "overexposed" on 
one side. This he hung on the walls of the "Ark." 
One day his mother visited that sacred chamber, and 
she quickly discovered what she believed was a 
menace to the morals of her first-born. She mani- 
fested her disapproval by sticking a wafer over the 
offending mamma. 

In April, 1856, part of Lot 63 — 199 feet on the 
Public Square by 105 feet deep — was sold for 



Notes on the ^^Ark^^ 29 

$30,000 lo the United States (Jovernineiu lor the 
site of the present Government Huilding. As this 
included the ground occupied by the "Ark," the 
latter was moved to the easterly and set up front- 
ing on Rockwell Street on part of the ground 
now occupied by the Case Building. 

The following parody, ascribed to Leonard Case, 
Jr., and in lamentation over this first disturbance of 
the quiet waters which had for so many years sur- 
rounded the "Ark," reflects whimsically, though per- 
haps not poetically, the condition of mind in which 
the "Arkites" found themselves under Uncle Sam's 
unsympathetic hand. 

WAILINGS. 

Should you ask. me whence these whispers, 
Strange, mysterious, troubled whispers, 
Floating on the breeze of springtime 
In this glorious, happy sunshine, 
Jarring 'gainst the joyous music 
Of our feathered friends, the songsters, 
Making dismal happy places. 
Grating on the ear of quiet — 
I would answer, I would tell you, 
'Tis the wailing of the hopeless, 
'Tis the sorrowing of the lost, 
Breathing words of deepest anguish. 
Muttering only of the past. 



so Notes on the ^'Ark " 

should your ears be long and heavy, 
And further should you question me, 
I would answer, I would tell you, 
'Tis the deep and fearful wailing 
Welling up from hearts despairing, 
In their waking and their slumbers 
Groaning ever, in sad numbers: 
" Alack-a-day ! We're of the past, 
"Our wigwam fires can't longer last, 
"Our history's written *on the wall.' 
" Our pipe of peace grows black and short 
"(Preferred to any other sort), 
"No more to grace our gatherings; 
" Cards which two-score years of service 
" In cribbage, high-low-jack, and euchre 
" Have blackened, yet endeared : adieu ! 
" No more learned disquisitions 
"On the state, the times, and people; 
"No more jokes, those tough old jokes, 
"Oft repeated, often laughed at, 
"Prized for their age and good they've done; 
"No more stories, oft told stories, — 
" How we prized them, how we told them, 
" Always adding, ne'er abating, 
" Drawing bows still stronger, strongest 
" Drawing croj-j-bows always longest ! 
"We've been favored and enlightened; 
" Long we've met, and fondly listened 
"To the words of wisdom falling 
" From each others' lips o'erflowing, 
" And appreciating fully 
"All our wondrous privileges, 
" But, dear friends, we're to be scattered 



Notes ON the ^'ylrk'" 



31 



"In \ lew short moons, to wander 

" 'Mong the barbarous sons of men 

"Who will not our ways consider, 

" For they cannot understand them. 

*' But dearer, fonder, fondest yet, 

"The place where we have always met; 

"The easy swing and quiet air 

" Pervading everything that's there, 

"From broken chair to 'catch a green un,' 

"To fireplace — there's seldom seen one 

" Like it, for the air of quiet 

" Reposing 'mong its three-months' ashes, 

" Round which our circle blazed in flashes 

"Ol quiet wit, when chance to hit 

"Some brother in a tender spot, 

"Exposing traits elsewhere known not. 

" Must we leave thee, Paradise, 

" Where we're fixed as snug as mice, 

"And yield to 'Uncle Sam,' the shark, 

"Who wants our home, our all, our Ark? 

"Wahona-win, Wahona-win,* 

"There's no knowing; no, no knowing; 

" 'Tis but a leap, deep in the dark, 

"So fare-ye-well, thou dear 'old Ark.'" 

* Refer to vocabulary of Hiawatha. 



When the excavation for the Case Building was 
commenced in 1859 or i860 the "Ark" was again 
moved, this time to the easterly side of Wood Street, 
near the corner of Rockwell Street, and set up with 
its front again facing westerly, on the site of the 



S2 Notes on the ''-Ark " 

present temporary Public Library Building. Here 
it remained for ten or twelve years until the early 
seventies, when the erection of the City Hall Build- 
ing was commenced. Then the little building which 
had been in existence for forty-five years was de- 
molished and nothing preserved from it excepting a 
few oak timbers, out of which a couple of tables 
were made and placed with the other furniture in 
the new quarters in the Case Building, in which, 
when completed, Leonard Case, Jr., had reserved a 
room for the "Ark." This room was in the south- 
easterly part of the building on the third floor near 
the corner. 

In the meantime, besides the regular "Arkites," 
others became habitues of the club, most of whom 
were men of tastes similar to those of the older fre- 
quenters. These finally became known as "outside 
members." The names of these as given by Major 
John Coon were as follows: Charles L. Rhodes, Judge 
Seneca O. Griswold, Captain Levi T. Scofield, Rod- 
ney Gale, H. M. Chapin, W. H. Scholl, Jabez W. 
Fitch, O. C. Scovill, Dr. John S. Newberry, Edward 
S. Flint, John Shelley, W. A. Fisher, Frank Ford, 
Captain P. G. Watmough, Oliver Hazard Perry, Pro- 




7he ^<Arkr 



xWotcs OH the ''.V/'/" x^ 

fcssor Hamilton Smith, William D. Gushing, John 
Wills, Mr. Van Vocst, John Williamson, James Wil- 
liamson, Allen Smith, |r., Dr. |arcd l\ Kirtland, John 

F. Warner, O. N. Skeels, Hon. Emory D. Potter of 
Toledo, Fayette Brown, Steven G. Remington, Henry 

G. Gay lord, Levi Kerr, L. Austin, John A. Wheeler, 
and George H. Russell. In addition to these another 
authority gives the following names: General John 
Pierce of Denver, Golonel E. A. Brown, John Proud- 
toot, ''house-painter and poet," T. Kelley Bolton, 
James Fitch, Mr. Pettibone, William Rattle, Major- 
General James A. Potter, U.S.A., T. N. Bond, Mr. 
Stevenson, Basil Spangler, and General James Barnett. 

The new quarters in the Gase Building proved 
to be too small for the crowds which gathered when 
the number of "outside members," so-called, in- 
creased. The chief trouble arose from the various 
brands of tobacco used by the members, it being 
one of the customs that each should furnish his 
own. There was no objection made if a member 
gave a cigar or a pipe of tobacco to another, but 
the practice was not in favor, and with many smok- 
ing the room could not be ventilated to meet the 
demands of weaker lungs. To remedy this the cor- 



34 Notes on the "Jrk " 

ner room, which was larger than the hrst, was 
added to the quarters. From this time the mem- 
bers, in referring to the club to each other, usually 
spoke of it as "Nineteen," that being the number 
of the corner room. The scientific work which had 
engaged the attention of the older members for 
so many years was practically abandoned and the 
rooms were used mainly for amusement. The libra- 
ry was retained, however, and new furniture made 
to order had been added. I visited the rooms for 
the first and only time about fifteen years ago, and 
the furnishings appeared much worn and dilapidat- 
ed. The tops of the tables showed the abrasion 
due to innumerable '■'-antes^' and the cane-bottomed 
chairs exhibited manifold signs of agitation due to 
the uncertainty as to what the opponent held in his 
"hand." The evidence was no longer circumstan- 
tial, however, for "penny-ante," with a ten-cent 
limit, was then a nightly diversion. I remember 
the late Levi Kerr coming into his office one morn- 
ing evidently much pleased with himself, jingling a 
few coins in his hand, amounting in all to forty- 
three cents, which he boasted of having won the 
evening before " up in Nineteen." 



Notes Of I the ^^Ark^^ J5 

IVcvious to his death the younger Leonard (^ase 
made a lite-lease ot the two rooms thus oeeupied, 
together with their contents, to fifteen members, and 
upon the death of the last surviving lessee the use 
ot the rooms was to revert to the Library Associa- 
tion. The names of the lessees were as follows: 
Charles L. Rhodes, S. O, Griswold, D. W. Cross, H. 
M. Chapin, E. A. Scovill, W. H. Scholl, J. J. Tracy, 
Stoughton Hliss, Levi T. Scofield, Rodney Gale, 
Jabez W. Fitch, Henry G. Abbey, Bushnell White, 
B. A. Stannard, and John Coon. All of these gen- 
tlemen are now dead excepting |. J. Tracy, L. T. 
Scotield, and John Coon. 

There was a member of the "Ark" that should 
not be torgotten. Humble he was, but ever faith- 
tul. This was "Old Guide," William Case's favorite 
pointer dog. The fondness of the master for the 
dog and the faithtulness of the dog to the master 
tell best the story ot the attachment between them. 
Writing home, when absent on business trips, his 
letters would contain affectionate inquiries about his 
dog, not doubting for a moment that Guide's re- 
grets were as great as his own over the enforced 
separation. 



36 Notes on the ''Ark " 

One warm spring afternoon when the little build- 
ing stood fronting the Square and several of the 
members were lounging on the sidewalk, Leonard 
Case observed his brother's purse protruding slight- 
ly from the trousers pocket. He quietly abstract- 
ed it and passed it to his neighbor, who in turn 
passed it on, and finally it was hidden beneath 
some litter. Suddenly Leonard remarked that he 
needed some money to do some marketing, but was 
"broke." Several offered to lend it to him, but 
William rather sharply told them to put up their 
money as he had plenty for the purpose. "Here!" 
he exclaimed, as he put his hand into his pocket 
for his purse. Discovering his loss he immediate- 
ly suspected a joke. Calling to Guide, the dog 
was made to understand by signs that something 
was lost, and he was given the scent by put- 
ting his nose into the pocket. Guide, of course, 
quickly recovered the purse and returned it to its 
owner. 

When Guide grew old he became paralyzed in 
his hinder parts, and it was pathetic in the extreme 
to watch his efforts to move from place to place. 
He was too heavy to carry, so to aid him they 




An Evening 




Fr(,m lit snginal hy dllmat:. 



It the "^/-Z."" 



Notes ofi the '^Ark'' ,7 

would grasp a hiiul leg in each hand, making a 
sort of canine wheelbarrow of him, and let him to 
trot ofF on his fore legs. 

One of the treasures of the ''Ark" in its later 
years was a group portrait of the original ''Arkites." 
In 1858 or 1859 a German artist named Julius 
Gollman was employed to paint the portrait rep- 
resenting the members in characteristic attitudes, 
standing or sitting in the old "Ark" room. The 
artist succeeded in creating an admirably realistic 
picture, and those who knew the men may, aside 
from the features, easily recognize each by the atti- 
tude in which he is portrayed. To the extreme left 
stands Dr. Sterling, just as he may often have been 
seen on the street while having his boots polished. 
Next sits "Captain Ben" discussing with William Case 
the peculiarities or merits of a gun. Behind them 
is Mr. Tracy giving way to a natural impulse in 
poking the fire. Against the further corner of the 
chimney stands Dr. Maynard, refined and dignified, 
watching a game of chess between Bushnell White 
and Leonard Case. At the large round table sit 
David W. Cross, E.. A. Scovill, R. K. Winslow, and 
John Coon holding a post-mortem over a game of 



S8 Notes on the "Ark " 

whist. The story goes that Cross was the culprit 
who had violated some one of the rules of the 
game, and Scovill was giving him the law upon the 
point from Hoyle. Behind the card-players, strok- 
ing his beard, the pride of his heart, stands George 
A. Stanley, with Mr. Abbey at his side in the act of 
lighting a cigar. In the foreground sits the genial 
Colonel Bliss smoking, just as he may have been 
seen in front of the old Kennard House any pleas- 
ant forenoon in his later life. To those who knew 
them the portrait tells a story of by-gone days more 
charming than pen can picture. The dogs, the lit- 
ter of the room, the wood, the axe, all speak and 
deny the renovating hand of the gentler sex, and 
recall the custom of the place that the room should 
not be swept oftener than once a year. One of the 
old members writes: "They forgot to sweep one 
year, and the ashes littered the floor from one end 
of the room to the other, and the cobwebs, black 
with dirt, hung from the ceiling to the floor, so 
that in moving about one brushed against them." 
Those standing proclaim their tardiness, it being the 
practice to remain seated no matter who might 
enter. Be he old or voung, it was insisted that he 



Notes on the ^'y-//-/" sg 

tind his own scat or remain without. Of the dogs, 
one belonged to ''(-aptain Ben" and the other to 
William C^ase. Collman was paid four hundred dol- 
lars tor painting the picture, and the few photo- 
graphs taken of it hear his copyright. The copy 
exhibited here to-night is, 1 believe, the one which 
belonged to William Case. It is a pleasure to state 
that the famous picture has been cleaned, gla/ed, 
and deposited with the Western Reserve Historical 
Society by Mr. Levi T. Scolield. The pencil draw- 
ing is one made by William Case, and shows the 
rear of the original building before the wing was 
attached. 

A few anecdotes may not be out of place. 

The late Mrs. Axtell of Painesville was fond of 
telling the following story about her cousin Wil- 
liam Case. One evening in the late autumn he 
wished to use the tables for something connected 
with the scientific work, but found White and Bond 
at the small table engaged in a game of chess, and 
Scovill, Bliss, Cross, and Leonard Case absorbed in a 
game of whist at the large round table, all ob- 
livious to him and everything else but their games. 
With characteristic politeness he requested the players 



40 Notes on the '^Jrk " 



to yield the tables to him and "Captain Ben" for a 
few moments, but not one of them moved. He re- 
peated his request, and still he was ignored. His 
temper was somewhat aroused, and as he passed out 
of the door he said sarcastically: "Good evening, 
gentlemen. I will wait until you are through." He 
had not been absent long before the smell of smoke 
aroused the players, and soon the room was filled 
with it to suffocation in spite of their efforts to 
create a draft for it up the chimney. Pretty soon, 
however, William's smiling face was seen at one of 
the windows. There was a rush in his direction, 
but he made good his escape, and "Captain Ben" 
climbed to the roof, removed a board that had 
been placed over the chimney, the room was aired, 
and the games were continued. 

"Dave" Cross was always ready to wield the 
quill, that the fictions of his brain might not be 
lost to humanity, and his tongue would match with 
any in tales of marvellous adventure in forest and 
stream. None but the largest deer or bear escaped 
with punctured hide, and none but the heaviest 
trout snapped his hook from the line. He drew the 
Cross-how with such monopolizing persistency that 



Notes on the '^ ///'*' 7/ 

his fellow *'Arkitcs" determined to perpetuate his 
tame, iliai we ot to-day might know what manner 
of man with whom fate had so kindly associated 
them. Gollman, he who painted the famous pic- 
ture, was engaged for the task of producing in 
color the story ot the mighty hunter killing a bear 
which, upon closer examination, proved to be only 
a hog. No one enjoyed the caricature more than 
did Cross himself, and to him must be given the 
credit of being the only member of the "Ark" to 
place on permanent record anything concerning its 
history. In his articles in the Magazine of Western 
History may be found a short sketch largely quoted 
from a newspaper article by Mr. George Hoyt. 

I have known personally but few of the members 
of the "Ark." 

Dr. Elisha Sterling was a naturalist of unusual 
ability. He began his professional studies in the old 
Erie Street Medical College under Dr. Ackley — the 
former owner ot the Rowfant Club House — and 
finished them in Paris, where he spent several years. 
In his letters to the "Squire," as he was tond of 
addressing his friend William Case, there are many 
racy anecdotes of Parisian experiences. One after- 



42 Notes on the '•'•Ark " 

noon a few years ago the door of William Case's 
former office, No. 9 Rockwell Street, was darkened, 
and upon looking up I discovered Dr. Sterling stand- 
ing there looking around the room. I invited him 
in, but he said, "No; I simply wished to look at 
an old friend." The sadness in his voice impressed 
me, and I insisted and finally prevailed, and he 
came in and took a seat. He talked long and 
affectionately about his dead friend, but not a word 
about the "Ark" could I draw out of him. 

Mr. Rufus K. Winslow was an ardent student of 
ornithology, and his skill and taste in taxidermy 
were unrivalled. He was one of the most active 
promoters and officers of the Kirtland Society, and 
his collection of thrushes was at one time considered 
the finest in the United States. He was a peculiar 
man, and very profane. His manner at the moment 
was a correct barometer of the state of his business. 
When matters were prosperous he would walk with 
elastic tread, head erect, and his hat set far back. 
When business was dull or matters going wrong the 
hat would be down over his eyes, his head bent 
forward, and woe betide the friend that accosted 
him. My earliest recollection of him was in hear- 



Notes on the *'y7/-/" 43 



ing hiin swcur at the telephone before he had even 
taken the receiver from the hook. One day in 
1882 or 1883, while in the office of the late Judge 
Ranney, in answering the telephone I was unable to 
distinguish the name of the one who called, and I 
asked the second time who it was. The reply came 
back in an angry tone, ''It's Winslow," and I 
informed him that I didn't care if it were, he 
shouldn't speak to me in such a tone. Whereas 
he had formerly ignored me, thereafter he was genial 
and pleasant. Frequently I would overtake him in 
walking down Euclid Avenue, and had many friend- 
ly chats with him about his old friends of the ''Ark." 
When he became too feeble to walk he would drive 
down in his high-seated open carriage, and one 
morning he drove up to the curb and called to me 
to come and drive down town with him. As I was 
walking for the exercise I thanked him and de- 
clined, whereupon he yelled to the driver, "Go on!" 
In his estimation 1 ceased to exist after that morn- 



me. 



Mr. Tracy is one of the two of the original 
members of the "Ark" now living. He is still hale 
and hearty, and his vigor might be the envy ot 



^^ Notes on the ^'Ark^^ 



much younger men. When his history shall have 
been written it will be found that he was connect- 
ed with many of the city's most active business 
enterprises. His gifts to charities have been many, 
and for those who know him well there exists no 
warmer heart, no truer friend. 

Mr. Abbey was another of the "Arkites" with 
whom I had personal acquaintance through some 
five or six years, and his loyalty to his friend and 
employer Leonard Case was the characteristic that 
would impress one the most. At one time he was 
Clerk of the Michigan Legislature, and later he 
contracted the gold fever which took him to Cali- 
fornia, whence he returned with more experience 
than gold. In the sixties he became Mr. Case's con- 
fidential friend and adviser, in which capacity he re- 
mained until Mr. Case's death in 1880. In 1876, 
by deed he was made trustee of the property which 
eventually became the endowment of Case School. 
He died June 18, 1877. 

With the recent appropriation of the Case Build- 
ing by the United States Government for an addi- 
tion to the Post Office site, the "Ark" passed out 
of existence as was intended by its founders, and it 



Notts Of I the ''yV//" 4S 

is to he hoped that some one may eventually take 
up the task of vvriting its history in a manner 
worthy ot the institution and the men who creat- 
ed it. 

As a suggestion, would it not be appropriate for 
Rowtanters some day to dedicate one corner of 
their home to the memory of the institution which 
has impressed itself upon the minds of all who 
strive for higher ideals ? 

I have drawn freely from the newspaper articles 
to which reference has been made, and if William 
Case's name has been mentioned more frequently 
than others or than may be seemly, it is because, 
as one authority states it, "he was the founder, the 
master, and the soul of the <Ark.'" 



46 Notes on the ''Ark^'' 



Key to Large Picture "An Evening at the 'Ark.' " 

1 Elisha Sterling. 

2 Benjamin A. Stannard. 

3 James J. Tracy. 

4 Alleyn Maynard. 

5 William Case. 

6 Bushnell White. 

7 David W. Cross. 

8 Leonard Case. 

9 Edward A. Scovill. 

10 George A. Stanley. 

1 1 Stoughton Bliss. 

I 2 Rufus K. Winslow. 

I 3 John Coon. 

14 Henry G. Abbey. 




IJamaita ©uetnaborouffl) JQta=|3att 



I COPY UtL. lOtAl.UIV. 
CCT. ?B 1902 



LiDn«n 1 y-" 



014 574 284 5 



